Non tennis posts for October go here.

In a rematch of their US Open opening round epic, Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep collide Wednesday in Beijing. Sharapova, who leads Halep 7-0, advanced to the third round after consecutive three set wins over Anastasija Sevastova and then today Ekaterina Makarova.

Halep on Tuesday, earned a retirement 6-1, 2-1 victory over Magdalena Rybarikova who had to pull out of a match due to illness.

“You can take a little bit away …

In Tokyo, Milos Raonic made his first appearance since Canada and his return started off on a good note beating Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4. Raonic had been out after left wrist surgery.

“It was a good match for me in a lot of ways, disciplined and competed well – considering the circumstances,” said Raonic. “I couldn’t hit over a backhand, but I made the most of it.

“The injury developed over the …

Playing his first official match since winning the US Open, Rafael Nadal was pushed to the very brink in his opening match against Lucas Pouille, saving two matchpoints in a 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 victory.

Nadal was down 6-4 in the second set breaker before winning the last four points to push the third.

“Was a very tough first round, as I say the other day,” Nadal said. “He played well, I think. …

RAKUTEN JAPAN OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
TOKYO, Japan; surface: hard

Seeds: Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic, David Goffin, Kevin Anderson, Sam Querrey, Albert Ramos Vinolas, Diego Schwartzman

Floaters: Gilles Simon, Viktor Troicki, Richard Gasquet, Feliciano Lopez, Donald Young, Steve Johnson

Notes:

Interesting starts for (5) Anderson vs. Simon, (3) Raonic vs. Troicki, (6) Querrey vs. Gasquet, (4) Goffin vs. Lopez, (8) Schwartzman vs. Young, and (2) Thiem vs. Johnson…

Wildcards were awarded to Japan’s Taro Daniel, …

CHINA OPEN
BEIJING, China; surface: hard

Seeds: Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut, John Isner, Tomas Berdych, Nick Kyrgios

Floaters: Lucas Pouille, Damir Dzumhur, Juan Martin del Potro, Mischa Zverev, Jared Donaldson, Jack Sock

Notes:

Tough starts for (1) Nadal vs. Pouille who he is 1-1 career against, (3) Dimitrov vs. the streaking Dzumhur (winner to likely meet Del Potro), and (7) Berdych vs. the streaking Donaldson (winner to …

Uzbekistan’s 31-year-old Denis Istomin won the Chengdu Open in China on Sunday, in the final benefiting when Marcos Baghdatis retired at 3-2 in the first set citing a back injury.

Two years ago Istomin became the first player from Uzbekistan to win an ATP title when he raised the trophy in Nottingham on grass.

“I know his situation, because I’ve had a lot of injuries,” said Istomin. “I know the feeling and …

Belgian David Goffin broke a three-year title drought on Sunday in China, beating No. 5 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 to win the Shenzhen Open.

The win ended a six-final losing streak and upped his record to 1-3 in finals this year.

“This one is really special because you know it’s always tough to come back from injuries,” said Goffin, who suffered an ankle injury at the French Open that kept …

France’s Caroline Garcia won the biggest title of her career in the unlikely all-unseeded final of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open in China, defeating Ashleigh Barty 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-2.

The tournament featured eight of the Top 10 players on the WTA rankings.

“I just feel very happy and proud of my fight of today, proud of all the work we did,” Garcia said. “Sometimes, it was difficult for me after some good …

In a recent interview, Novak Djokovic talked about his new life with a second baby, daughter Tara, just welcomed to the world earlier this month and his rehab.

Via Google translation, here’s some of what he said.

“I miss a competition, but I do not know where I do not know what else to do. I have a lot of cool things in my life right now that happen to me. …

This past weekend marked the inaugural Laver Cup, which pits Europeans against the “World” in a team format, very similar to Golf’s Ryder Cup.

With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and no Kei Nishikori nor Juan Martin del Potro, Team Europe took the first cup rather comfortably by a 15-9 margin.

The players seemed to get behind the idea, the area looked packed and there was a palpable buzz about the event …

Novak Djokovic will have Andre Agassi again on his team when 2018 begins, according to a statement received by Reuters.

“We can confirm that Agassi remains the head coach while Italian Marco Panichi will take over as the fitness coach and Argentine Ulises Badio is the new physio,” a statement from Djokovic’s camp read.

“The only remaining issue is appointing a second coach and that will complete the staff accompanying Djokovic …

German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk won the Moselle Open in Metz on Sunday, defeating No. 7 seed Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-2 in the final.

The German won seven matches in eight days, becoming the first qualifier to win an ATP title this year.

The 28-year-old ran out to a 3-0 lead in the second set before closing it out.

“It was a totally different match, because then it was on grass in Stuttgart,” Gojowczyk …

Damir Dzumhur became the first player from Bosnia and Herzegovina to win an ATP World Tour singles title on Sunday when he defeated Fabio Fognini 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the St. Petersburg Open in Russia.

The 25-year-old Dzumhur will move to a career-high of approximately No. 40 on the new ATP rankings on Monday.

Dzumhur was 0-2 career against Fognini entering the final, but in the third set he …

2017 DONGFENG MOTOR WUHAN OPEN
Wuhan, China; surface: hard

Seeds: Garbine Muguruza, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Caroline Wozniacki, Johanna Konta, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dominika Cibulkova, Jelena Ostapenko, Agnieszka Radwanska, Madison Keys, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber, Kristina Mladenovic, Sloane Stephens, Anastasija Sevastova, Elena Vesnina

Floaters: Magdalena Rybarikova, Daria Gavrilova, Julia Goerges, Sam Stosur, Caroline Garcia, Ekaterina Makarova, Alison Riske, Daria Kasatkina

Notes:

Eight of the Top 10 and 17 of the Top 20 in attendance at the …